Night Time Visitor
by Sheela
Summary: An unexpected night time visitor gives Rose some insight to the future – and the present! 9thDoctorRose, hints at 10thDoctorRose


Title: Night Time Visitor

Author: Sheela

Rating: T

Disclaimer: The BBC owns Dr Who and no money has been made from this story.

Archive: If you want to, sure. Just let me know where it's going.

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Summary: An unexpected night time visitor gives Rose some insight to the future – and the present! 9thDoctor/Rose, hints at 10thDoctor/Rose

* * *

Rose woke with a start. Where was she? This wasn't her bed, wasn't her room. This wasn't the TARDIS. 

A snore from her left brought the memories back. 'Right,' she thought. They were on Crysbandilar in the year 72433, a very beautiful, very harmless, peaceful planet. 'Holiday!' Rose remembered happily.

Rose sent a fond smile towards the sleeping (and snoring) alien mass lying next to her. For somebody who still stubbornly maintained that he didn't do domestic, the Doctor certainly knew how to enjoy some serious downtime from adventure. For an alien who claimed that his body didn't need any sleep at all and that he had merely adopted this silly human habit out of fun, he also had a very healthy, deep sleep – and quite a snore.

However, the snoring wasn't what had woken Rose. It hadn't been a noise at all. More like a feeling, a feeling that something was wrong, but just what could be wrong on a holiday planet?

Silently, and careful not to wake her bed partner, Rose slid out from under the covers.

Donning the Doctor's discarded jumper she padded barefoot into the suite's main room. Instinctively Rose quietly closed the bedroom door behind herself as to not disturb her sleeping friend. Whatever had woken her was in here, but her gut told her that it was not dangerous – just important.

"Who's there?" she asked the darkness of the unlit room. After a moment of hesitation a tall figure carefully stepped out of the shadows in the far corner of the room. Involuntarily, Rose shrunk back.

"Who are you?" she demanded. "What are you doing here?"

There was no answer, but the figure slowly stepped closer towards her. As he passed the huge balcony window that opened out to the ocean, the combined pale light of the planet's three moons illuminated his features. There was something…

"Who are you?"

When the man spoke, it was not to answer her question.

"Rose…" he mumbled. "Oh, Rose… I'd forgotten how young you were…"

The way he said her name stirred something deep inside of her. It was as if… no, that was impossible… but still…

"Doctor?"

He nodded solemnly. Even in the night's half-light Rose could see that it was he. Even if there were no physical resemblance whatsoever between this man and her Doctor, Rose just knew. There was something in his eyes, in the way that he looked at her.

"Oh God! What happened to you?" she asked, staring at this other version of her Doctor.

"I'm sorry, Rose, but I can't…"

"Oh yeah, you can't tell me, right? Laws of time and all that." she interrupted him. "Never mind. So something happened, or will happen in the future and you'll change – or changed, but you came back. Why? What is it?"

The man with the unfamiliar-familiar face in front of her smiled sadly. "Oh Rose, you're still – already – the same. Always cutting directly to the heart of things, like you always do." A strangled sound erupted from the Doctor's lips and it sounded suspiciously like a sob. Concerned, Rose stepped closer to him.

"Are you all right?"

He made another choked noise, somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "No. No I'm not." Seeing Rose so close in front of him, staring up at his face questioningly, made the Doctor step back.

"I'm sorry, Rose, I shouldn't even be here…"

"But you are here, so tell me what's wrong!" she pressed.

This time there was no doubt that he was indeed crying. His shoulders shook with barely suppressed sobs and his head hung low, gaze fixed on his feet.

Rose didn't even have to think about her actions, it was instinct really. She just closed the distance between them and pulled the Doctor into her arms. He did not resist but literally melted into her embrace. If there had been any doubt in her mind about who he was, it was wiped out in an instant. The way they fit into each other's arms, his smell, and the sound of his twin hearts beating – everything was all too familiar. This was the Doctor – her Doctor – clinging to her like a lifeline.

"Tell me what happened." She quietly asked again.

"You died." He whispered into her ear, the sound of those small two words betraying all the desperation and heartbreak he felt. Then he drew back to face her, to stare into her eyes.

"You died." He repeated. "And I couldn't save you."

Rose swallowed hard, even as she felt her mouth form into an astonished O. Disarranged thoughts and questions raced through her mind. 'When? How? Where? Why?' The young woman knew that even should she ask, he wouldn't – couldn't – answer her question. She understood that much about time travelling.

The Doctor stared at his feet again. "I should go. I shouldn't have come here really. I know that, but I… I just needed to see you again – even if it's the last time."

Rose understood with sudden clarity that her questions tonight would remain unasked and unanswered. This was not about her. This was only about the Doctor and his grief.

She pulled him close a second time. For a brief moment he tried to resist, tried to be strong, but then he just gave up and let himself be held, burying his face in her hair.

Rose carefully manoeuvred them towards the spacious couch and they simply dropped into the soft cushions.

No word was uttered after this. She just held the Doctor close, hugging him tightly as his shoulders shook with desperate sobs; allowing him to bask in her presence and to breathe her scent one last time.

Hours passed unnoticed.

Rose had often wondered about the relationship between herself and the Doctor – the one that was sleeping blissfully ignorant in the next room just now. They had started out as friends and Rose knew that the Doctor cared deeply for her. As their relationship had evolved into something more physical, the lines had blurred beyond the point of 'friends with benefits.' They enjoyed each other's companionship, each other's opinions and each other physically, but neither had ever mentioned the word 'love'.

Rose hadn't done so mainly because she feared losing the Doctor with it. She didn't know how he felt and she certainly didn't want to pressure him into "doing domestic" as it might cause him to end whatever it was that they had.

As she lay in that couch, holding the Doctor's future form close while he grieved over her future death, Rose knew. This went far beyond just friendship, caring and physical closeness. This was about love.

* * *

When Rose woke up, she was alone on the couch and the morning sun was shining gloriously through the big, open window. Standing over her was the Doctor – her Doctor in his 'normal' form – wearing a quizzical look on his face. 

"Why are you sleeping out here?" he asked.

"Couldn't stand your snoring anymore," she replied with a cheeky grin and getting up. Standing in the sunshine, Rose stretched like a cat, trying to work the cricks out of her neck and back.

The Doctor huffed. "I don't snore." He grumbled as he walked to lean out of the window.

"Yes you do, and… I love you," Rose told him calmly, watching closely for his reaction. She wasn't disappointed.

The Doctor all but whipped around to face her. "Because I snore?" he asked incredulously.

"No. Just because."

"Oh." Silence as he stared at her, seemingly lost in deep thought.

"Me, too." he finally said decidedly, his face serious. "I mean I love you too, you know?"

"Yes, I know."

The End


End file.
